Attaroa
Attaroa 'is an antagonist appearing in ''The Plains of Passage. ''She is a member of the S'Armunai and is the leader of the Three Sisters Camp, tyrannically ruling over it and killing anyone who opposes her, until Ayla and Jondalar arrive and challenge her leadership. Background According to the shaman of the Three Sisters Camp, Attaroa had an unhappy childhood; her mother never loved her much and she was sexually abused by her mother's mate. As an adult, Attaroa left her home to mate Brugar, the half-Clan leader of the Three Sisters Camp. Attaroa was happy at first to be leaving behind her old home, but soon discovered that life with Brugar was even worse. Brugar oppressed the women of the Camp and also physically abused and raped Attaroa. She eventually fell pregnant and birth to a child named Omel, who's gender was kept a closely guarded secret. Eventually, Attaroa poisoned her mate and took over leadership of the Camp. By this point, Attaroa had grown to despise all men, believing them to be worse than useless. She imprisoned the men - with the help of her loyal female followers - in a holding pen, killing or crippling those who disobeyed or defied her. Attaroa insisted that women were the better sex and believed that by separating the women and the men, the Great Earth Mother would only be able to find female spirits, and so only female children would be born. Attaroa organised her followers into a group called the Wolf Women; under Attaroa's second-in-command, Epadoa, they learned how to hunt animal and would partake in a ritual involving the eating of wolf flesh. Attaroa delusionally believed that her Camp was an ideal place for women, failing to acknowledge that the way she treated boys and men was monstrous and that her Wolf Women were actually very poor hunters. Because the men and women were separated, fewer children were born and the whole Camp suffered. Attaroa eventually murders Omel, when he or she tries to help some men to escape. ''The Plains of Passage Attaroa's Wolf Women capture Jondalar after he and Ayla are caught in a horse stampede. Attaroa accuses Jondalar of trying to steal their horses and doesn't believe his story about Ayla and riding horses. She has him locked up with the rest of the men in the holding pen. Attaroa later tries to seduce Jondalar, but he refuses. Angered, Attaroa has him stripped and tied to a stake, and prepares to kill him, but she is interrupted by the arrival of Ayla. Ayla is clearly outraged at what Attaroa has been doing at the Camp and confronts Attaroa. She pretends to show goodwill to Ayla and invites her to a feast, but it becomes plain she intends to kill her. At the feast, Attaroa ends up attacking Ayla in a rage, knocking her to the ground and trying to stab her with a dagger. Attaroa is much stronger than Ayla and the Wolf Women hold back Jondalar, preventing him from intervening. However, before Attaroa can kill Ayla, Wolf appears and attacks her, tearing her throat out with his teeth to save Ayla and finally freeing the Camp from her tyranny. Personality Attaroa was a very twisted and cruel woman. She was arrogant, vengeful and rather delusional. She never expresses remorse for any of the terrible things she has done, even murdering her own child when Omel defied her. She expected people to obey her every command and respect her, despite her relatively poor leadership skills. Attaroa was a complete misandrist, viewing all men as being selfish, violent, sadistic and oppressive. Ironically, Attaroa had many of these traits herself. It is implied that Attaroa's hatred of men and murderous rages stemmed from her horrible childhood and mating. Physical Appearance Attaroa was described as being quite tall and muscular for a woman. She was apparently quite attractive, but her beauty was marred by the cruelty she displayed and the fact her face was often twisted into a sneer or a scowl. Family '''Mate: Brugar Issue: Omel (child)